LMF+-+Erica+Preston

//Learning Motivation and Fun//
 //View// the assignment page //for a more detailed explanation of this project.

In this exercise, you'll collect data from our database of interviews about fun and learning. Use this template and the data to create 5 generalizations for what you observed. Your generalizations should answer the questions//
 * //What makes learning fun and engaging?//
 * //What are the implications for your own teaching and design work//

3) High school students almost universally reported that physical activity was an element in the experiences they called "fun".//** //Bill W, for example described learning beginning archery skills at boy scout camp. Sallie Forth recalled a social studies class in which "we recreated in chicken wire and paper mache the battlefield at Shiloh and spent several class periods reconstructing the events there." All together there were 24 experiences that took place during high school years and all but 1 included physical activity. In most cases (19 out of 24) these activities also required creative or critical thinking.//
 * //Example:

What are your 5 generalizations?
1) **Medium to high levels of competition were reported as part of fun experiences by both males and females in their teens and twenties**. Interestingly, the majority of both males and females in this sample group also noted that physical activity was high for these fun, competitive experiences. For instance, Minh Tam Chau worked with her PE classmates as a Liberal Studies undergrad to form letters of the alphabet or numbers using body parts. Andrew spoke about a fun experience where he learned how to drive a car. We all know how competitive young adults are when it comes to getting their license before their friends! Females reported the occurence fun competitive experiences a little earlier in life than males. Below are some stats:

Out of a total of 72 male respondents, 14 reported that a medium level of competition was an element in the experiences they considered fun, and 14 reported that a high level of competition was an element. Medium = 2-9 age group (1 respondent); 10-19 (4); 20-29 (8); 30-39 (1); mostly career and academic High = 2-9 (1); 10-19 (4); 20-29 (6); 30-39 (2); na (1); mostly hobby

Out of 89 female respondents, 17 noted a medium level of competition and 17 noted a high level of competition. Medium = 2-9 age group (0 respondent); 10-19 (7); 20-29 (6); 30-39 (1); 40-49 (2); 50-59 (1); mostly academic High = 2-9 (2); 10-19 (7); 20-29 (5); 30-39 (2); 40-49 (1); mixed career, hobby, academic 2) **A high use of humor correlates to a high level of teacher enthusiasm.** 26 females in comparison to 19 males noted that high humor was part of their fun experiences. 0 stated that the teacher had low enthusiasm for the subject if humor was high. Half (23 out of 45) shared these fun, humorous experiences with other peers. However, "humor" seemed to take different forms (like an instructor who keeps learners on their toes), rather than the expected "jokester". For example, Aurora took a waltz class with 40-50 other learners in which the engaging instructor immediately had the students pair up to practice the steps they had just learned. Brian learned how to play the bass drum in a marching band ensemble, in which the instructor randomly chose one player to play a solo by simply standing next to him/her with his arm raised. When the instructor raised his arm, the rest of the ensemble stopped playing. Music, drama, dance and gymnastics seem to be a common thread for this sample test.

3) **A medium to high level of challenge was associated with fun role play/fantasy learning experiences.** Only fifteen respondents noted that fun learning experiences involved role play and fantasy as a major focus. The majority of these experiences were academic (nine), while three were career related, and three were hobby related. Ronnie role played as a UN delegate and learned how different countries related to one another, while Asu learned English as a second language by writing and performing short scripts in front of her other classmates.

4) **Findings show some similarities between genders when factoring the level of environmental control on "fun" learning experiences**. Thirty-six percent of males had fun learning experiences when they controlled the environment by at least 60%. The statistics on these findings was forty-four percent for females. The findings show similarities between males and females on this element, across all levels of self-control. The examples in this range of respondents contained what might be considered "personal achievements" in which many cases were physical activities, such as learning how to wake surf like Casey, taking a ceramics class like grandma Ardis, woodcarving like Rick, learning cool skateboard tricks like young Ryan, or scrapbooking like Melissa.

5) **An overwhelming number of respondents considered a fun learning experience to consist of a low human interest.** This finding surprised me- however thinking back to my two video posts- both actually fell within this parameter. Only nine of the 83 total respondents in this category also reported a low level of sensory richness, which means the majority of these fun learning experiences that were based on mainly things, processes or ideas balanced out with high levels of colorful media and/or outdoor experiences. Many of these can be categorized as field trips, such as Joe who visited an ice rink for physics class to study the difference in movements on ice versus land. I scoured the outdoors to collect bugs for a biology project. Justin went to the Stone Brewery in San Marcos to learn how beer is made and distributed for our drinking pleasure.